OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.–As some Oklahomans prepare to celebrate the Christian holiday honoring the birth, death and resurrection of a man devoted to the redemption of humanity, Oklahoma’s evangelical elected officials will carry out the execution of Kevin Underwood, the final execution of 2024 in the U.S.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-0 to deny clemency for death row prisoner Kevin Underwood. He’s scheduled for lethal injection on Thursday, Dec. 19 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.
The convicted child killer has sat on death row for two decades following the brutal killing of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin in Purcell.
During Friday’s clemency hearing, Underwood confessed to the suffocation and partial decapitation of Bolin. She was found in a plastic tub in his apartment. Public documents indicate he planned to rape and cannibalize Bolin’s body.
“Although I do not want to die, I recognize that I deserve to die for what I did,” Underwood said in a video stream during the hearing. “If my death could change what I did, I would gladly die.”
Oklahoma Gov. Stitt has only granted commutation for a death row prisoner once, in the case of Julius Jones. Unless he intervenes, Underwood will be the third Oklahoman executed in 2024 and the final execution of the year in the entire nation, according to the Death Penalty Info Center.
Advocates cite Kevin Underwood’s traumatic childhood, Oklahoma cites gruesome murder
Underwood’s attorney, Brendan Van Winkle, defended his client from death, saying “he could’ve made it’ if not for his severe mental health issues and abuse as a child.
Oklahoma advocates against the death penalty acknowledged the pain Underwood’s actions have brought the victim’s family and highlighted Underwood’s apology to the victim’s family.
“There was much pain in the hearing room, precipitated by barbaric violence to a 10-year-old girl. Kevin Underwood acknowledged the pain he caused the Bolin family, his family and everyone affected by the murder. The Bolin family shared their continuing pain,” said Rev. Don Heath, Chair of the Oklahoma Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
Yet Heath blasted the clemency denial, pointing to Underwood’s childhood trauma and mental health issues.
“Underwood’s attorneys and psychologist showed that the violence was a result of Underwood’s own isolation and emotional trauma. The vote to deny clemency will only perpetuate and add to the senseless violence,” Rev. Heath said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in the Attorney General’s Office argued Underwood was a depraved master manipulator who suffered no abuse as a child.
“I am pleased the board voted to deny clemency for this deeply evil monster and ensured that justice will be delivered for Jamie Rose Bolin,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “Jamie’s family has waited 18 excruciating years for justice that will finally be carried out when this murderer is executed.”
Childhood trauma a common thread among death row prisoners
Like Kevin Underwood, many Oklahoma death row prisoners have cited severe childhood trauma during their upbringing.
Notably, Oklahoma holds one of the highest rates of childhood trauma in the nation. Oklahoma has the fifth lowest rate of childhood wellbeing in the nation, according to a 2024 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
According to prosecutors, Underwood’s victim, 10-year-old Jamie Bolin, loved sphagetti, her Girl Scout troop and the color green.
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